accretion disk

Astronomers Map the Shape of a Black Hole's Corona for the First Time

The Sun is surrounded by the corona, a region of superheated gas above the surface that can be millions of…

7 days ago

Simulating the Accretion Disk Around a Black Hole

Black holes are by their very nature, challenging to observe and difficult to spot. It's usually observations of the accretion…

3 months ago

Not All Black Holes are Ravenous Gluttons

Some Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) consume vast quantities of gas and dust, triggering brilliant light shows that can outshine an…

6 months ago

A Black Hole Has Cleared Out Its Neighbourhood

We can't see them directly, but we know they're there. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) likely dwell at the center of…

10 months ago

A Bizarre Pulsar Switches Between Two Brightness Modes. Astronomers Finally Figured Out Why.

Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These rotating dead stars shoot twin jets of radiation from their poles, usually…

1 year ago

Hungry Black Hole was Already Feasting 800 Million Years After the Big Bang

Black holes swallow everything—including light—which explains why we can't see them. But we can observe their immediate surroundings and learn…

2 years ago

A Monster Black Hole has Been Found Right in our Backyard (Astronomically Speaking)

Using data from multiple observstories, a team of astronomers has discovered a monster blackhole right in our backyard!

2 years ago

A Star has Grown Spiral Arms

Astronomers using the ALMA Observatory have discovered an unusual, massive star near the center of our galaxy, a star that…

2 years ago

A New Idea to Harness Energy From Black Holes

A new study by an international team shows how the physics of a black hole's event horizon could allow us…

4 years ago

A ring of high-energy particles surrounding a black hole suddenly disappeared

In March 2018 astronomers watched a massive black hole surge in brightness. Then over the following year, its ring of…

4 years ago